MD Series The Mitch Drabbles MD1MD16
by grieving-pln
Summary: A Post-Canon tale of Ennis del Mar told in a series of Drabbles & Vignettes. Three years after the passing of Jack Twist, Ennis meets someone and despite his surly behaviour and reticent ways, the two men become good friends. Ennis learns to love and accept who he is, as well as to acknowledge how much he loved Jack. Story is complete. The rest can be found at grieving pln on LJ.


**MD1 - Grieving**

"Buy you a drink?"

"Got a drink."

"It's about empty."

"Came here to be alone."

"Folks don't come to a bar to be alone, friend. Want solitude, go to a library. Don't look too comfortable, though. Why you even here?"

"Just enjoyin' my drink. Don't want no conversation."

"S'okay..." The man continued quietly, something about the worn and weary cowboy tugging at his heart.

The stranger's voice had a kind tone Ennis couldn't bear.

Dropping his glass, Ennis rose to leave, mumbling something under his breath that only the heavens would understand, "You ain't got no business soundin' like that."

**MD2 - Persistent**

"You're back, friend."

"Stop callin' me that."

"Sure are a gloomy son of a bitch."

"Don't recall askin' your opinion."

"Don't expect you to have the wherewithal to ask me nothin'…not even my name." The stranger sat down this time, extending his hand. "Name's Mitch."

Ennis looked up, assessing the stubborn asshole attached to the extended fingers. The room spun … dark brown hair, soft blue eyes, and a smile… 'What the fuck he smilin' like that for?'

Ennis stumbled in his haste pushing away from the bar, boot getting caught on the stool. "Didn't ask for your fuckin' name."

**MD3 - Chuckle**

"If it ain't Mr. Congeniality."

"What the fuck you just call me?"

"Easy, friend. Was a joke. You know…congeniality…as in, nice…friendly…likeable…

you know, all the things you just…ain't." Mitch stood in front of Ennis for a moment,

mouth twitching, trying to decide whether or not to smile.

"Oh…" Ennis stepped back, glaring at the persistent fool so insistent on talking to him. "Well, yeah…okay." Ennis pressed his lips together, trying not to swallow for a moment, knowing what would happen if he took a breath...

His muffled chuckle escaped with a grunt, just as he pushed past, exiting the Post Office.

**MD4 - Margene**

"Howdy, Margene. Got this little pink card here. Says you got a package for me."

"Hey, Mitch. You stayin' outa trouble?"

"You know it, ma'am."

"Don't lie to me now. You know I'm good friends with your mama."

Mitch winked, making the mature woman smile.

Margene handed a small package to the smiling man, then glanced at the glass door, still swaying from the hurried exit of the last person to rush through.

"So, how long you and Mr. del Mar been friends?"

"Friends?" Mitch sputtered. "Uuuhhh…why you think we's friends, Margene?"

"Well, he didn't take your head off when you was standin' in his way. With Ennis, that usually means somethin."

"His name's Ennis?" Mitch smiled.

"You kiddin' me, child? You didn't even know the man's name, and you was talkin' to him that way?"

Mitch raised a brow.

"Wasn't eavesdroppin. You was talkin' loud enough for me to hear ya."

Mitch nodded, pressing the box in his hands as he continued to smile at Margene. "Well, thank you kindly for all your help today, ma'am. Appreciate it."

Margene narrowed her eyes as she assessed Mitch's happy countenance. "Why I get the feelin' you ain't just talkin 'bout your mail?"

**MD5 - Dictionary**

Ennis tossed his mail in the truck, the pile sliding across the seat, half the pieces falling to the floorboard. He paused for a moment, leaning on the doorframe, resting his chin on his hands. Glancing over his shoulder, he took his first deep breath since exiting the Post Office…and let the chuckle loose.

"Congen…Congentilly…Congenialiful…" Ennis mumbled to himself, trying to remember the exact word Mitch had used. Giving up with an amused smirk, Ennis got in his truck, wondering if he still had that old dictionary at home...the one the girls had given him years earlier for his birthday.

**MD6 - Shudder**

There are only so many places a book can be in a tiny trailer.

It wasn't by the bed or under it, or beside the lone chair or underneath it. So Ennis opened the one small closet that graced his home, rummaging around to the back of the only shelf. The dictionary was there, blue and red, never used, the spine still crease-free, and the birthday note from the girls still slipped between the words,

floozy and fob.

A large truck passed by, shaking the trailer, shuddering the home with its rude invasion. Ennis stared at the dictionary, forgetting what he'd wanted to look up in the first place, before leaning forward to straighten his postcard with a slow thumb, the card always dipping crooked every time the closet door was opened.

A worn right hand slid down the length of two conjoined sleeves, stopping at the cuff, gripping tight for a moment. 'Hey, Bud...' Ennis' throat constricted, no additional words spoken, though his eyes were suddenly bothered by the dust the truck had just kicked up, causing them to water a bit and blink rapidly for a moment.

The dictionary was returned to the back of the shelf, unused.

**MD7 - Drink**

He'd promised the girls a while back he'd quit drinking so much, and he'd done better, but never actually quit completely. He didn't see the point or the need. But he wasn't proud of having scared them like he did.

At the time, he hadn't cared. It had been months already, maybe close to a year. Ennis wasn't exactly sure. All those days in the beginning, after that card had arrived, had all run together into one long, painful moment…to be re-lived…again and again.

When he slept, he dreamed, and the dreams weren't always good. So he drank, enough to dull everything, with the hope that the dreams would be stilled. But more often than not, they weren't quieted, but rather distorted, making the waking up process that much more painful, forcing him to realize there was still one more day of getting up, getting dressed, and trying to remember when he'd last eaten.

His girls had found him that day...the day he hadn't shown up for work. The only thing the doctor had said was it was a good thing he'd passed out on his stomach.

Whenever tempted to sleep on his back, he would think of his girls.

**MD8 - Dream1**

He dreamed of blue that night. Everything was blue…two different shades swirling together, yet remaining distinct.

The spinning mass of burning sapphire moved just ahead of his outstretched fingers as he reached for it, trying to bring the comfort to himself.

It finally parted like a hazy cloud, exposing Jack's face, young and beautiful, but minus a mouth. When Ennis reached for the place where his friend's lips should have been, his fingers fell off, just short of touching that skin.

The vision of Jack shook his head, and started to turn around.

'No. Don't leave. Talk to me. Talk to me, Bud.'

The blue became red, a gushing geyser of endless crimson, covering the back of Jack's head, laying scarlet stripes across his bare back.

'Wait. Please. Don't go. Let me help you, Jack.'

But as Ennis reached for the retreating figure, the fingers on his left hand fell off as well, then both hands crumbled, and then his arms up to his shoulders...

Ennis didn't remember moving, but when he awoke hours later to the sound of another truck shaking the trailer on all sides, he found himself huddled on the floor, next to the closet…holding the shirts.

**MD9 - Confusion**

Ennis stumbled to the kitchen, still clutching the shirts, and stood there shivering for a moment, barefoot, bare-chested, wearing only pajama bottoms that had once been ocean-blue but were now threadbare-grey.

He looked down at his arms, wrapped tightly around the faded fabric, and then stared confusedly out the far window of the tiny trailer, gazing at a heartless sun just beginning its morning journey.

Day old coffee lay thick in the pot; three days of dishes were growing green in the sink. Ennis sank to the bed, held the shirts tighter, and tried to remember what day it was.

**MD10 - Sunday**

'Sunday…it was Sunday. The girls were comin' over, after church…or was that next Sunday?'

Ennis stepped towards the closet, shaky and confused, stopped, turned, and grunted, before setting the shirts carefully on the bed. He shuffled to the counter, turned on the tap, pissed in the sink. Evidence of the drinking damage of the night before was strewn across the counter and the floor, but he still had time to clean it up before the girls arrived.

Ennis re-hung the shirts, taking more time to straighten the cuffs and collars than he'd ever spent on a shirt on his person.

**MD11 - Knowledge**

"Daddy, what's that smell?"

"Huh? What smell?"

"Smells like somethin' died in here."

"Jenny…" Junior turned to her sister, raised her brow.

Jenny bit her lip. "Sorry, daddy. Just…"

"No, s'okay." Ennis smiled, letting his youngest enfold him in a hug.

"We brought you some food from the potluck, just like we said we would. You remembered we was comin', right?"

"Course I did." Ennis looked away, turning his back for a moment to their concerned gazes.

Jenny glanced at her sister and lifted her shoulders, as if to say, 'Well…?'

"Daddy, you really need to let us help a bit more, clean up a little for you." Junior took off her sweater and rolled up her sleeves. She ignored her father as he tried to protest.

"Don't be needin' to do nothin' like that. Keep tellin' you, I'm fine. Let's have some a this good food."

"We already ate, daddy. You sit and enjoy that. There's a piece a cherry cake in the small container for dessert. We'll just do a few things while you eat."

"But…"

"Can't hear ya, daddy. Water's runnin."

Jenny stood alongside her sister at the kitchen sink, whispered low, "he's still drinkin."

"Ssshhh…I know."

**MD12 - Widow**

"You ain't touched your cake, daddy."

"Can't eat no cake just now." Ennis rose, joining his daughters in his tiny kitchen, now smelling strongly of Lysol and pine. "You girls done enough in here. Come sit for a spell."

"Washed your coffeepot, daddy. Made a fresh pot."

"Thank you, darlin. Smells good." Ennis accepted the steaming mug from his eldest, squeezing her shoulder with his free hand. As he turned, the girls exchanged another look between them and followed their father as he retired to the only semi-comfortable chair in the place.

Junior sat on the bed, Jenny on the only other chair, cracked, with one leg shorter than the rest.

"Daddy, we been thinkin…"

"Oh, no…"

"Daddy!"

Ennis' eyes softened. "You look like your mama when you talk that way."

Both girls smiled.

"Daddy, I was sayin, we been thinkin…why don't you come with us to the potluck next month. Might enjoy it. Real nice folks. Lots a people you might like."

Ennis narrowed his eyes.

Junior caught it; Jenny didn't. She continued right along as she stared into her cup, didn't look up.

"Met a real nice lady, coupla weeks back. Widow woman. Her name's Na…"

Ennis groaned.

**MD13 - Understanding**

The girls remained in the vehicle a few minutes, talking, before Jenny went inside to study, and Junior headed home to Kurt.

"Think we shoulda waited another week to say somethin?"

"I think you need to learn to look at Daddy's face when you talkin' to him. I swear, Jenny. You been this way since you was a little kid. You always look at your hands when you talk to daddy." Junior's voice went soft. "Gotta look at his eyes."

"His eyes are too sad." Jenny kicked her foot against the Pepsi cans littering the floorboard.

"I know." Junior nodded, understanding. "But his eyes say everythin, even when he don't know it."

Jenny nodded, scrunching up her brow as both her parents were so prone to do. "He still misses him…his friend."

"Yeah, he does."

"Ain't it supposed to get better for folks, after a while?"

"Losin' certain people…maybe it never gets better."

"But it's been three years, and they only saw each other once in a while." Jenny looked up, wishing her sister could give her more of an answer.

Junior held her sister's gaze, finally saying what seemed to make the most sense. "Jenny…they was real good friends."

**MD14 - Name**

If not for cigarettes and beer, Ennis probably wouldn't leave his trailer on Sundays at all. After the girls had left, he tapped out his last smoke from the crumpled package, then opened the refrigerator to frown at an empty six-pack container gracing the top shelf. He didn't even remember finishing it off the night before, but he'd moved on to whiskey so quickly, most of the previous evening was a bit of a blur.

Now, standing in the grocery store, looking at his cart that consisted of beer, whiskey, cigarettes, and six large cans of Dennison's chili, Ennis was about to consider Junior's suggestion of buying a few additional canned goods, when his attention was abruptly reminded of another item he desperately needed to buy.

"Damn, that all you gettin? Shit, you gonna blow out your intestines."

'Toilet paper…need to buy toilet paper,' Ennis mumbled to himself, not even looking up, though he recognized the voice behind him immediately. "You just everywhere, ain't ya…Mitch."

Mitch almost dropped the jar of pickles he was carrying, surprised as he was that Ennis called him by name. By the time Mitch found his tongue, Ennis was moving away, never having turned around.

**MD15 - Barbecue**

Mitch tossed his bag on the seat and glanced over the top of his truck at Ennis putting the last of his purchases in his vehicle as well.

'Hell, what the fuck. What's the worst he can say?' Mitch didn't actually want an answer to his question, speculating that Ennis del Mar wasn't someone he'd want to see angry.

"Hey, friend."

Ennis had heard the boots approaching, but had ignored them, not looking up.

"Havin a barbecue."

"Whut?"

"A barbecue. Folks is comin by in a few minutes. Gonna grill some burgers. Drink some beer. Just a few friends from Red's. Real nice folks. You'd like 'em." Mitch paused to take a breath.

Ennis stared, dumbfounded. "Boy, you don't know me from Adam. You always go around invitin total strangers to your house?"

Mitch's smile grew, unperturbed. "I'm the little blue house at the corner of Main and Mulberry. Pass it comin into town. Set back a little ways from the street, though. Kinda hidden behind the two large pines. Gotta slow down, or you'll drive right past." Mitch chuckled. "So, see ya in a little while…Ennis."

That got Ennis' attention, certain he hadn't yet offered his name.

Mitch started to walk away, not waiting for a reply.

"Uuhh…Mitch..." Ennis' tongue felt like sandpaper. "Can't today. Another time though... maybe."

Mitch turned.

"Sure, friend. You bet."

**MD16 - Unfolding**

"Buy you a drink?"

"Got a drink."

"It's about empty."

~~~ pause ~~~

"So it is."

"Ain't this the part where you tell me to be on my way?"

"Shut up and sit your ass down."

Mitch smiled, got comfortable on the stool, and tried to get the bartender's attention.

Ennis got his attention first. "Beer…for my friend."

Mitch smiled wider.

"So, how was that barbecue thing you was talkin about last Sunday?"

"Real nice. Lots a folks. Good food."

"You do the cookin?"

"Hell no. I turn everythin to charcoal. I just provide the place and the grill. Brad does the cookin. Ever'body brings somethin."

"Brad?"

"Buddy a mine I play pool with at Smitty's. You probably know him. Lived in town all his life."

"Brad Miller?"

"That's right."

"Hmmm. So he can grill."

"He's the only one of us who don't burn ever'thin to a crisp." Mitch chuckled.

"Hmmm."

"You probably woulda had a good time. Lots a the guys mumble and grunt."

"Hell you say." Ennis almost dropped his beer, but saw that Mitch was already laughing. "Well, maybe next time."

"Gonna hold you to that, friend."

"You think you can do that?"

"Aim to try."


End file.
